Lengthy videogame retrospectives are the norm rather than the exception these days. Games like Skyrim now have 20 hour retrospectives that, while generally being of exceedingly high quality and enjoyable to watch, got me thinking about a controversial topic: Race in videogames. Just how are videogame retrospectives and race are related? To me it has to do with who is creating these retrospectives and how this impacts their analysis of games. It's not controversial to say that most of the YouTubers creating these retrospectives are white men without degrees in history or related analytical disciplines. Even so, they present their conclusions with the confidence of a scholars speaking from the pulpit of an Ivy League lecture hall. When it comes to discussing topics like race and racism, I believe they are lacking some nuance in their analysis. A select few of these retrospective creators are so confident that they've begun weaving critic...
Shionne (left) and Alphen (right), the game's main characters. Warning: Spoilers Ahead These days I don't have much time, so it's rare that I finish long sprawling RPGs like Tales of Arise . But finish it I did, and so I figured I'd take the time to jot down some of the thoughts on the game. To sum up, my initial impressions were very positive. I liked the protagonist, I liked the graphics, and I found the combat to be a nice improvement over the last Tales game I played, Tales of Vesperia (admittedly I have not finished this one). As the game wore on, I ran into several roadblocks that tend to arise (sorry) in most Japanese RPGs (or JRPG for short): the enemies got tougher, requiring some grinding. The bosses had overinflated health pools, and money and other important battle items like Arise 's equivalent of health potions became scarce. Maybe I am less dedicated than the average gamer these days, but I felt obligated to buy the double ...